


Tough as Nails

by ariesbean



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Biracial main character, Marauders era, Quidditch, i don't like writing kids but i want to set the scene so be patient, idk how often i'm gonna upload or if i'll give up so ... good luck, she's a baddie, the relationship will happen EVENTUALLY, there will be some death bc ... war, this is my first fic, will continue into the golden trio era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:20:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25756507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariesbean/pseuds/ariesbean
Summary: constructive criticism is appreciated <3 lowkey uncomfortable with writing 3rd person so help me out
Relationships: Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> constructive criticism is appreciated <3 lowkey uncomfortable with writing 3rd person so help me out

The neighborhood park was always a place of chaos. The sounds of infants crying, toddlers screaming, and children yelling were loud enough to make anyone leave, but Maya had a mission. She on her bench, the other parents ignoring her existence. She didn’t mind, of course, she had come to accept her status of an outcast in her neighborhood. What she refused to accept was her daughter having the same standing. She clasped her hands tightly, watching her daughter like a hawk, plastering on a smiling and encouraging mask whenever her five year old turned to wave at her. The problem wasn’t that Zara was too shy to meet people; it was that she would meet other children who seemed friendly but would ignore her the next time they met at the park, glancing at their own parents nervously while looking anywhere except at Zara. Zara must not have seen anyone she hadn’t already met, as she settled herself next to a tree with some grass and flowers in hand, talking to herself as she made her “potion.” Maya knew it wasn’t going to be easy for her child in a village like this. No matter how she dressed Zara or how immersed they became, the two of them could never blend in. It pained her to not be able to pass down the colors of her culture to her daughter, but it became a survival mechanism. Maya herself had taken to wearing neutral-colored skirts and shirts to try and blend in, but she knew her neighbors were set in their views. So she tried her hardest to make sure her daughter would make at least one friend, here, at this park. 

—-  
Zara hummed to herself, plucking petals off flowers and adding them to the pile of shredded grass in front of her. She already knew that the other kids here didn’t like her, so she didn’t invite them to make a potion with her. Their loss.  
“Excuse me?”  
Zara turned around to see a brown-haired boy with a stick standing next to her. She’d never seen him before. “Are you making a potion?”  
“Yes.” She didn’t know what to make of him, but the nervous look in his eyes reassured her that he wasn’t trying to make fun of her.  
“Well, I just thought that you might need something to still with.” He held the stick out, swaying a bit. Zara looked between him and the offered stick a few times before smiling.  
“You can stir while I add in all the ingredients.” His eyes widened and he quickly sat down, eager to please his new friend. “What’s your name?”  
“Remus,” he said, placing the stick in the pile of grass and petals, stirring slowly.  
Zara gave him a wide grin, ready to make her potion with her first friend. “I’m Zara. I want to be your friend.”

—-  
Zara knew she was different. She huffed as she kicked a lonely pebble down the road, having the all too common conversation with herself.  
She stuck out like a sore thumb, actually, being the only brown girl in a small village in England. The taunting and teasing over her tanned skin and frizzy hair forced her to become strong mentally and physically. In public, the neighbors simply looked at her and her mother with discomfort, and with her white father with pity, as if he had been unjustly burdened with inferior family members. In private, their words were hateful, the venom spewed at home repeated at school, children learning to hate those who were different from them. She always kept to herself, ignoring verbal taunts but she could never stand when it got physical.  
This wasn’t the first time she was called to the headmaster's office for fighting with another kid, but this time was different. This was ... unexplainable. Her classmates had learned from experience that they would need to gang up on her in order to physically confront her. As soon as the teacher left the classroom, it began, a circle of vile words targeted to try to pick apart her appearance, her heritage, anything that made her foreign to them. When their words were ignored, they turned to invading her space, pinching her and pulling her braids until she snapped and pushed them away. She had gotten very good at bottling up her anger and insecurity, focusing on clenching her jaw even as her eyes watered and her heart raced against her will. But the moment they caused her any physical pain, she would lose her grip and push back. This incident started like her usual weekly seminar on how she was the scum of the earth and somehow ended up with the classroom window being blown out. She reached up to feel the small nick on her bicep, the sting the only reassurance that today's events were real. This was an unusual event for the usual reasons, but especially because Zara and her assailants were on the opposite side of the classroom when it happened. Unable to figure out a few ten-year-olds could have broken a window from fifteen feet away, the headmaster decided to deal with the situation as he dealt with all situations involving Zara— by sending her home. She was clearly the odd one out and therefore the root of the mischief, and thus the only one who ever received punishment.  
She stared at the familiar blue door before finally knocking, stepping back and taking a deep breath as she heard footsteps approach.  
“Oh, Zara,” her mother sighed as she opened the door, welcoming her home from her abruptly shortened school day.  
“It happened again, mama,” Zara said standing in the doorway, drained from the questioning from her teachers about the unexplainable window breaking. Looking up at her mother, seeing the pain in her mother’s eyes, she felt her own eyes start watering again, a tear falling down her cheek despite her efforts.  
“Oh love, I know. It’s all right.” Zara’s mother gathered her child up in her arms, hugging her tightly as if trying to absorb her child’s pain and take it herself. “Let's go and have some lunch, hm?”

—-

“MAMA, I’M GOING TO SEE REMUS,” Zara yelled, eagerly pulling up the sleeves of her sweater. She laid in her bed, wallowing in her melancholy until 3 PM when she knew Remus would be done with classes.  
“All right, be back before dinner,” her mother answered from the kitchen. Zara locked the door behind her, speed walking down the road to Remus’ house. Who would’ve known that the one friend that she made years ago would’ve lived a short ten-minute walk away? Their mothers were very eager for them to be close friends - Zara obviously wasn’t very popular at school, and Remus was homeschooled for some reason, so they seemed to be a misfit match made in heaven. She didn’t know why Remus didn’t have other friends; he was perfectly sweet and wasn’t any sort of social outcast that she could see. Maybe it was because he was sick. She didn’t know why he was sick but his mother explained to her that he had a reoccurring illness that would make him too sick to play for a few days a month. Zara smiled, remembering the time a few years ago when she and Remus were determined to see each other every day and their mothers had to keep them locked in the house so they wouldn’t disturb each other while Remus was sick.  
“Mrs. Lupin, it’s Zara!” She knocked on the door, eager to see her friend after her confusing day.  
The door opened a crack and Zara could see the hazel eyes of Mrs. Lupin behind the door. “Zara! It’s lovely to see you dear but I’m afraid we’re a bit occupied at the moment-“  
“No need to turn away Mr. Lupin’s lovely friend, I’ll be on my way now,” an unknown voice said behind the door, and Mrs. Lupin opened the door to reveal the oldest man Zara had ever seen. His hair was completely white and he had a waist-length beard, his old man look completed with some strange purple cape. He definitely didn’t fit in this perfect little town, so Zara instantly liked him.  
“Hello sir,” she piped, wondering why Remus had never mentioned having a grandfather coming to visit. The old man tilted his head, and she could’ve sworn his eyes actually sparkled.  
“Ah Miss Matthews, it’s lovely to meet you. I expect I’ll be seeing you soon.”  
“Uh... yes sir, it was nice meeting you too.” The old man walked past Zara out into the street, leaving her outside the door wondering who he was and how he knew who she was.  
“Zara, darling, come inside,” Mrs. Lupin called, her eyes following the departing old man before opening the door wider for her to come in.  
“Who was that?” she asked, placing her backpack by the door.  
“Oh, I expect Remus will want to tell you that, dear, he’s in the living room,” Mrs. Lupin said, smiling at her husband in the kitchen. Zara waved to Mr. Lupin before turning into the living room.  
There sat Remus, smiling at his hands as if he had just won the lottery.  
“Who was the old man?”  
Remus’ head shot up and his smile somehow got even brighter. Zara smiled back and laughed as he leaped off the sofa and engulfed her in a tight hug.  
“Oh Zara this is the best day ever,” he sighed, rocking them back and forth in their embrace.  
She laughed. “Wow, that man must’ve knighted you for you to be this thrilled!”  
Remus pulled back, his smile filling his face and lighting up his eyes. “I’m going to school,” he whispered, almost tearing up with happiness.  
She grabbed his hands, confused why this was a big deal for him but his happiness made her happy as well. “Are you going to join my school?”  
“No! I’ve been accepted to a special boarding school in Scotland,” he laughed. “I never would’ve dreamed of being able to go there but that man you saw is the Headmaster and he personally invited me.”  
“Wow.” Zara’s heart dropped at ‘boarding school in Scotland.’ Her only friend, going so far away. “That’s amazing, Remus.”  
“Oh Zara I’m sure you’ll be invited too, I’ve seen it, you’re also magical, there’s no way you won’t be invited,” he gushed, squeezing her into another hug.  
“If you say so, Remus.”

—-

Knock knock knock.

“One second,” Papa called from his study, briskly walking you the front door to see who was visiting. “Hello, how may I help you?”

Zara peeped at the doorway from on top of the stairs, gasping when she saw the old man from Remus’ house at her own doorstep.

“Yes, I’m here about your daughter, Miss Zara.”

She could see Papa’s body stiffen. “I assure you, sir, whatever you’ve heard about my daughter—“

“Has all been wonderful,” the man completed, smiling at Papa. Mama sat next to Zara on the stairs, curious about the stranger. “May I come in? I’d like to talk to your whole family, please.”


	2. Chapter 2

The stars were beautiful out here. One of the benefits of living in the middle of nowhere, she thought. The smell of damp grass and the crisp air, coupled with the serenity of the stars twinkling from millions of miles away. She hoped she would be able to lie in the grass and look at the stars like this at Hogwarts.  
“Papa?” she whispered.   
“Hm?” Her father lay right next to her, just like when he would point out the constellations to her when she was younger.   
“Do you think it’s fate?”   
“Do I think what’s fate?” He looked over at her, his eyes mischievous. Never ask a philosophy professor vague questions about the universe and life.  
“Maybe I don’t fit in here because it was written in my fate for me to be a witch.” She turned her gaze from the stars to her father, who frowned. One of the things that upset him the most in life was that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to understand the struggles his wife and child went through. Nor would he be able to stop the way they were treated. He knew nothing about the wizarding world or how they treated people like Zara. He was still adjusting to the fact that there actually was a magical world — he had thought it was all a cruel prank until they walked into Diagon Alley and magic became the only explanation for what he saw.   
“I don’t know what’s in your fate, sweetheart,” he admitted, meeting his daughter's eyes. She got his chocolate eyes, much to the dismay of Maya, who thought for sure her daughter would get her green eyes. “All I know is that it makes sense for a magical girl to be in a magical world.”   
Zara smiled at him, crawling over to curl up next to him. “I’m gonna miss you, Papa.”  
“I’m gonna miss you too, Zara.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, brushing a few curls out of her face. “You’ll send at least one letter every week, right?”  
“Yeah.” Zara pressed her face into the cotton of her father's shirt, inhaling his familiar scent.   
“Remember to send them to Mrs. Lupin first, you know how Mama hates owls,” he chuckled. When Zara’s official Hogwarts letter came, a giant owl had flown in through an open window, scaring her mother into screaming and breaking a cup. She swore she never wanted to interact with the owl delivery service again and worked out a method for Zara to deliver her letters to the Lupin household instead. This worked out well, especially considering that Mrs. Lupin and Zara’s mother had tea together almost every afternoon.  
“Is Mama going to be ok without me?” she whispered. Zara and her mother were the only people in the neighborhood that weren’t 100% white, and they leaned on each other for support when people decided to complain about that fact.   
“She’ll miss you, of course. But we’ll be fine, angel,” he said with a squeeze. “Knowing you’re safe and enjoying yourself will make it all worth it.”

—-

“Whoa.” There were no words to describe the train in front of her. The Hogwarts Express.   
“Now kids, let us get a picture of you before you run off!” Mrs. Lupin pulled a camera out of her purse, motioning for Remus and Zara to get closer together. Zara’s parents had trusted the Lupins to get their daughter safely to the station, as long as they promised plenty of pictures. They grinned, Zara putting her arm around Remus’ waist while he draped his over her shoulder. “Look at you two, all grown up and going to Hogwarts!” The camera clicked and a small puff of smoke came out of it. The pair said their goodbyes to the Lupins and ran to the train as fast as they could with their trunks in tow. They waved to the Lupins as the train started moving, the pair beyond excited to finally be going to Hogwarts.   
Zara opened her trunk, removing the set of robes at the top to change. “Hey, Remus, can you help me get this on the rack?”  
“Sure.” Together they heaved both trunks up, a considerable feat for two 11-year-olds. They threw themselves into opposite seats, grinning.  
“It’s finally happening.”  
“I know. I honestly never thought this day would come!”   
Zara frowned. “I thought you said your dad was magic?”  
“Yeah he is, I probably was going to be magical anyways, but I didn’t think Hogwarts was going to accept me.” He wrung his hands, not wanting to explain further.   
Zara studied his face. He was paler than usual, the bags around his eyes a bit more pronounced. Even his eyes looked ... almost sharper, but not in a good way. He always looked like this when his sickness was returning.  
“Remus, your sickness... is it magical?” He stiffened but nodded, turning to look at the countryside moving past the train. “And that’s why you never told me much about it?” Another nod. “All right.”  
He turned to face her, eye wide. “All right? What does that mean?”  
“I’m ok with you not telling me.” It was Remus’ turn to look confused. “You obviously couldn’t tell me before, and you’re uncomfortable with telling me now, and that’s ok! I know that I always get my best friend back every month and that’s what I care about.” Tears started to form in his eyes, and Zara smiled as she reached out to touch his clenched hands. His sickness was a big part of his life that he didn’t like discussing, so she respected that.   
“You know what? I’m going to go change and then we can talk about Hogwarts.”

—-

Zara speed-walked through the train, mumbling the compartment numbers as she tried to find her way back to Remus. She had no idea how she had gotten lost on a train, but she definitely hadn’t passed through a whole carriage of people dressed in green on her way to the restroom. “Of course I would get lost on a train,” she grumbled. 160 sounded about right, hopefully she was close. “I think — oh!”  
She ran into someone, tumbling to the ground.  
Zara looked up at the faces of the boy and girl she ran into. The boy was scowling, his greasy hair falling into his face, but the red-headed girl looked at her with concern.  
“Are you ok?”  
“Yeah.” Zara picked herself up, glancing between the boy and the girl besides deciding to introduce herself to the friendlier of the pair. “I’m Zara.”  
“Lily Evans.” Zara reached her hand out, grinning as Lily shook her hand. She turned to the boy, hand still extended. She currently had 2 friends, so she couldn’t be picky with whom she tried to befriend.  
“What’s your name?”   
The boy scowled at her but brought his hand out of his pocket.  
“Severus Snape.” He placed his cold, bony hand in hers, shaking it once before placing it back in his pocket. “Why are you already wearing your robes?”  
Zara looked down at her new witchy attire. “I wanted to get changed before everyone else so I wouldn’t have to wait in line. I kinda got lost on my way back,” she admitted, making Lily giggle.  
“If you don’t already have people to sit with, do you want to come to find a compartment with us?” Zara beamed at Lily, excited that she made a good enough impression on her that she wanted to spend the whole train ride with her. Severus didn’t seem to like this offer, but he just kept scowling and didn’t say anything.  
“I would love to but I already have a compartment with my friend,” she said, knowing that she couldn’t leave Remus sitting alone while she skipped off with new friends.   
“That’s too bad. I guess we’ll see you at Hogwarts then!” The girls waved goodbye, and Severus followed Lily as they continued their search for a free compartment. Zara looked back up at the compartment numbers, trying to remember exactly where she and Remus were before. She casually peaked into compartments as she walked through, envious of the ones with packed seats and filled with laughter. Maybe she could introduce Remus to Lily and Severus and they could be like that. She looked into compartment 165 and did a double-take. This was the compartment she and Remus had chosen, but now there were more people in there. Who were they? She took a deep breath before opening the door before her.  
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her, and she gave the two strangers and Remus a nervous smile. “Hello!”  
Remus smiled back at her and patted the bench next to him, sitting opposite the two dark-haired strangers. “I met some people while you were gone. You all right?”  
“Yeah.” Zara nervously smoothed out her robes as she sat down. The boys smiled at her — a good start. “I’m Zara.”  
“James Potter.” The bespectacled one reached out to shake her hand, a lopsided grin on his face. “First-year?”  
“Yeah, I just wanted to get changed before the rush.” She shook his hand, then turned to the other boy. He gave her a nervous smile.  
“Sirius.” They shook hands, then the four first-years sat in awkward silence.  
“So, Zara, we were just talking about what houses we wanted to be in,” James piped. “I reckon I’ll be a Gryffindor, Remus thinks Ravenclaw, and Sirius here will take anything other than Slytherin. What’s your choice?”  
Zara glanced at Remus and shrugged. “Honestly I think I could fit in any house values, it really depends on the people.”  
“Anywhere?” Sirius wrinkled his nose. “You’d have to be a chameleon to fit in with both soft Hufflepuffs and slimy Slytherins.”  
She shrugged again. “We all are brave and loyal and intelligent and ambitious to some degree.”  
“Maybe you’ll cause a hat-stall!” James suggested, looking at Sirius in excitement.  
“What’s that?”  
“A hat stall? You don’t know?” James blinked. Zara shook her head.  
“She’s muggleborn.” Remus carefully watched James and Sirius’ reactions. Zara recognized the look on his face; it’s the same he has when they go out in public and there’s a risk of someone saying something cruel to her. His protective, brotherly look.  
“Hey, that’s cool! You can teach me all the secrets of the muggle world.” James grinned, his hazel eyes lighting up behind his glasses. Remus turned to Sirius.  
“Hey don’t look at me- my family is the crazy ones, not me.” He raised his hands up in defense, and Remus relaxed, smiling at the two.   
"What's crazy?" Zara hated being kept in the dark.  
"Some wizards think that only purebloods are real witches and wizards, and everyone else should be wiped off the face of the Earth." Sirius wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Don't worry though; most people are at least half-bloods so there aren't too many maniacs in the wizarding world."  
Zara nodded, digesting the new information. "Well, at least I'll be able to fight back."  
The three boys looked at her, slightly alarmed, but switched to lighthearted banter and their excitement about Hogwarts to avoid any awkward conversations.

\---

"GRYFFINDOR!"  
Zara tapped her foot nervously as Remus hopped off the stool, grinning at his house placement. He walked over to the cheering red and gold table, sitting next to Sirius, whose sorting seemed to be a bit of a scandal. The two boys high-fived, before turning back to the Sorting.   
"Malone, Aubrey!"   
The curly-headed boy next to Zara let out a sharp breath before walking up to the stool. Professor McGonagall, who had introduced herself before the sorting, placed the ratty old hat on his head. Zara's foot bounced even faster. There couldn't be more than one person between Lupin and Matthews, right? She looked over at the Gryffindor table, making eye contact with Remus. This was probably the happiest she'd ever seen him. Absolutely relaxed, grinning as he gave her a thumbs up. She gave him a nervous smile, moving her gaze to Lily, who had also been sorted into Gryffindor. Lily turned her head from the sorting and gave Zara a kind smile.   
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
Oh no. It's her turn.   
"Matthews, Zara!"  
Zara mentally went over the traits of each house, trying to steady herself as she walked up to the stool. She could feel the eyes of the whole school staring at her. McGonagall smiled, placing the Sorting Hat on her head. She felt the Professor give her a gentle pat on the back as the hat fell over her eyes.  
"A muggleborn, eh? Welcome to Hogwarts."  
Zara jumped a little in her seat, not expecting the hat to speak to her.   
"I see you've learned a bit about the houses already. Bravery... loyalty... intelligence... ambition."  
Zara's leg resumed its bouncing as the hat hummed to itself, picking through her brain.   
"Well, you're definitely right. You could fit in any house if you had the right people."  
'Isn't it your job to tell me where I fit in best?' Zara thought.   
"It's my job to make a suggestion, but the final decision lies with you. Tell me, Ms. Matthews, where do you think you would fit in best?"  
Zara gingerly lifted the hat to uncover her eyes, taking in the four tables before her. The green table - Slytherin - looked completely uninterested, some even looking at her in disgust. Ok, definitely not the house for her. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were respectfully interested in her sorting, but she felt her eyes turn back to the Gryffindor table. To Remus. His full attention was on her, as was Sirius'. Her heart warmed at the fact that no matter where she chose, he would always be there for her.  
"Ahh, I see you have a bit of attachment to the Gryffindor house. May I suggest that you may feel at home in the house of the brave and bold?"  
Zara grinned, her eyes still on Remus. 'I think Gryffindor will be the right choice for me.'  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
The hat was plucked off of Zara's head, and she grinned at McGonagall before almost running to the Gryffindor table.  
"We're together!" Remus drew her into a warm hug before patting the seat next to him. Lily grinned at her as she slid into her seat, diagonal from where Lily sat.  
"Congratulations!"  
Zara's smile was the brightest ever, and she felt light as air. She leaned into Remus' familiar presence, comforted in knowing that these were going to be the happiest years of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK this is the end of Baby Marauders


End file.
